Talking to Grandma

Welcome to Talking to Grandma, a weekly podcast that elevates stories, science, and strategies to help you raise and teach multilingual and bilingual children. Hosted by Dr. Veronica Benavides, founder and CEO of Bilingual Generation, an organization that helps children with bilingualism in their bones stay connected to their heritage languages and cultures.

Today we hear from Zara Child, a 17-year-old student and the author of a Singaporean Hokkien language learning book. Although her first language was Mandarin Chinese, and she has formally studied French and English, it is Singaporean Hokkien that has captured her imagination. Through her work, she strives to protect linguistic diversity. Listen to hear Zara’s inspiring story and learn about the book she created, Jiak Ba Beh? A Taste of Singaporean Hokkien: An Introduction to Spoken Singaporean Hokkien.

Learn more about Singaporean Hokkien  at Save Sg Hokkien or www.learndialect.sg 
You can purchase her book here.

Welcome to Talking to Grandma, a weekly podcast that elevates stories, science, and strategies to help you raise and teach multilingual and bilingual children. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, researcher, school leader, or simply someone interested in the topics of language learning and language preservation, this podcast is for you. Through interviews with amazing guests and solo episodes, you will find the resources, guidance, and strategies needed to support you in your journey. 

We are kicking off Season 3 with a conversation with the formidable Nawal Qarooni. She is a Jersey-City-based educator and writer who supports a holistic approach to literacy instruction education spaces across the country. Drawing on her work as an inquiry-based leader and as a mother, Nawal’s pedagogy is centered in the rich and authentic learning all families gift their children every day. She is the author of Nourishing Caregiver Collaborations: Elevating Home Experiences and Classroom Practices for Collective Care, which is out now! She also serves on the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Advisory Board, which funds powerful literacy programming in the world. You can learn more about her work at NQCLiteracy.org.

Get ready for a thought-provoking discussion with Nawal, where she shares insights from her new book which sheds light on the intersection of cultural and linguistic preservation with literacy.

Resources: https://nqcliteracy.org/caregiver-collaborations/

We love hearing from you! Tell us what you think of the podcast. Email us at [email protected]. You can also slide into our DMs on Instagram, @talkingtograndma.

If you are interested in learning more about our workshops and curricular tools for schools serving multilingual and emerging multilingual students, visit our website at www.bilingualgeneration.com or write us at [email protected] 

In this episode, we chat with another grandma, Sonia Bu, who, in addition to being an amazing grandma, plays a special role as a board member and mentor to Bilingual Generation. 

In this conversation, we dive deep into her experience with her multiracial background, the complexities of identity, and how language and culture intersect to shape one's sense of self.

You are in for a treat today. Sit back, relax, and join us as we dive into this conversation!

If you are a grandmother or know of a grandmother who would like to share their story of language and cultural preservation, please reach out to us at [email protected] - we would love to feature them on a future mini-season of the podcast!

Learn more about the Brillando Bilingüe: The Bilingual Generation Alumni Speaker Series here: https://bit.ly/BGspeakerseries

On this bonus episode of Talking to Grandma, our host, Vero, had the honor of interviewing her mother about how she went from only teaching her children English because she was made fun of for her accent to finding joy in her grandson’s accent. 

Irene is a mother of four children, grandmother of five children, and has been married for 46 years. Her story has inspired our work at Bilingual Generation, and we can’t wait for you to hear and be inspired by her story! 

If you are a grandmother or know of a grandmother who would like to share their story of language and cultural preservation, please reach out to us at [email protected] - we would love to feature them on a future mini-season of the podcast! 

Learn more about the Brillando Bilingüe: The Bilingual Generation Alumni Speaker Series here: https://bit.ly/BGspeakerseries

Over the past two seasons, we have heard from parents, children, educators, researchers, therapists, and museum directors, all dedicated to the work of heritage language preservation. In this mini-season, we wanted to talk to actual grandmas in honor of our podcast name and host, Vero's grandmother, Maria Medina.

If you are a grandmother or know of a grandmother who would like to share their story of language and cultural preservation, please reach out to us at [email protected] - we would love to feature them on a future mini-season of the podcast! 

Learn more about the Brillando Bilingüe: The Bilingual Generation Alumni Speaker Series here: https://bit.ly/BGspeakerseries

In this special bonus episode of Talking to Grandma, producer Beck takes listeners on a journey back to SXSW EDU in March 2023, where Bilingual Generation participated in an enlightening panel discussion and spoke with audience members about language preservation, cultural identity, and equitable education. We hear the voices of Angélica Sánchez, Daniel Hernandez, and Jon Chin, exploring the challenges and triumphs of preserving heritage languages and the importance of embracing cultural identity.

Check out the full SXSW EDU session here!

Find out more about the panelist and their work: 
Diandra Morse, LCSW - @bilingualplayate on Instagram
Dr. Vanessa Santiago Schwarz - www.vanessasantiagoschwarz.com
Kaila Diaz - @bilinguitos on Instagram
Dr. Veronica Benavides - @wearebilingualgeneration on Instagram

You can find out more about our guests:
Angélica Sánchez - @myth.787 on Instagram
Daniel Hernandez - www.theblackwellschool.org
Jon Chin - www.jonathanchin.com

Follow us on Instagram @talkingtograndma

Don't forget to rate and review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this special bonus episode of "Talking to Grandma," we embark on a captivating journey to Antonito, Colorado, a town nestled in the heart of Southern Colorado. 

Join us as we dive into the stories of students and teachers who are part of the "Spanish for Heritage Speakers" class at Justice & Heritage Academy. 

This work was also featured in a segment on Colorado Public Radio on May 17th. The piece featured an interview with the co-founder of Justice and Heritage Academy, Aaron Abeyta, sharing the context of language loss in the community in addition to the student’s voices sharing their experience and hopes for the future. 

Learn more about Justice & Heritage Academy: https://www.justiceheritageacademy.org
Learn more about the Bilingual Generation: www.bilingualgeneration.com
Learn more about the Margulf Foundation: https://www.margulffoundation.org

Keep the conversation going on Instagram @talkingtograndma

We hope you enjoyed season 2 of Talking to Grandma! While our season has ended, we aren’t quite done yet! Keep your ears peeled for some exciting bonus episodes coming your way soon. 

And if you haven’t already, please rate, review, and subscribe to our podcast. It costs you nothing and means everything to us - it helps us keep these podcast lights on and helps us bring powerful, important, narrative change work to the world. 

We have spent almost two seasons talking with parents and educators of children with bilingualism in their bones, but in this episode, we get to hear very special conversations between a father and his daughter, who are both on the journey to preserve their heritage language. Dr. Armando X. Orguña and his daughter Giuliana Sol Orduña sat down to share what that journey looks like from each of their perspectives. 

We each have unique identities that become even more complex when we have mixed heritage. In today’s episode, Henry Yau shares how he heard the question, “What are you?” many times growing up with Chinese & Venezuelan heritage and how the diverse community of Houston welcomed him and continues to inspire his work today! 

As a graduate of the University of Houston, Henry has become a seasoned professional in the field of public relations, a passionate advocate for diversity and representation in children's education, and has played a vital role in shaping the experience at the Children's Museum Houston for the past 16 years. 

Connect on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henryyau
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/henry.yau.735/

Children's Museum of Houston: www.cmhouston.org

Resources Henry mentioned:
FLIP (Family Involvement Program):
https://www.cmhouston.org/outreach-programs/flip